| Issue # 22 - July 2008 | |||||||||||
 COASTAL WIKI – OUR SHARED COASTAL KNOWLEDGE PLATFORMThe world wide web is the major world platform for sharing knowledge and information. With the present tremendous growth of Internet connections this knowledge platform is enriched from day to day. Its role is particularly crucial in fields where knowledge and experience tend to be fragmented due to institutional and cultural constraints, as is the case for Integrated Coastal Management. However, existing information on the WWW generally lacks coherence, regular updates and quality control. For this reason the EU-funded ENCORA Coordination Action has initiated, eighteen months ago, the Coastal Wiki – the professional coast and sea wikipedia. Technical maintenance is ensured (now and in the future) by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) and the content management is ensured by the newly created Dutch hydro- and geotechnical institute Deltares. With some hundred daily visitors the Coastal Wiki has become a popular information source for coastal professionals. Most visitors look for practical information. The Sediment Transport Manual by Leo van Rijn, for instance, has attracted already more than 6 thousand visitors! Several universities in Germany, Spain and in the Netherlands are exploring possibilities to use the Coastal Wiki, not only for educational materials, but also for study assignments, such as criticizing, updating and improving existing articles. Before the end of this year the Coastal Wiki will be extended with a series of articles on ICZM practices in non-European countries, in particular from the US. In spite of the substantial number of contributions - almost 1000! – the Coastal Wiki does not yet cover all the major knowledge and experience relevant for coastal and marine management. We depend on your active participation to make the Coastal Wiki the authoritative and privileged knowledge source for coastal and marine management. By improving and completing the Coastal Wiki you will contribute to creating a sound basis for the sustainable development of our coasts and seas!  International news is in this issue
  International Seminar on the Dynamics of the Coastal Zone of Non-tidal Seas, Baltiysk (Kaliningrad Province)The Baltic coast of the Russian Kaliningrad province consists mainly of soft cliffs and lagoons, protected by large sand spits. After a period of stagnation, this coastal zone is now becoming a popular destination for tourism (in particular from Germany) and for luxurious second residences of inhabitants of the Moscow region. Several new holiday resorts are under construction or planned and the area may even become one of the fastest developing coastal zones on the Baltic. At this place – more precisely in Baltiysk, on the Vistula spit – the Russian network CORUNA organized from 30 June to 4 July a school-seminar on the dynamics of tideless coasts. Many young professionals attended this very successful seminar (pictures). Most or them came from Russia, but other Baltic countries were also represented, as well as the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The vulnerability to coastal erosion was one of the major topics, highly relevant for the projected coastal development in the area. Related problems were illustrated through poster presentations by young participants. The award for the best poster presentations went to Polish and Russian studies of the stability of the Vistula Spit, carried out in close collaboration. The concise overviews given at the poster session provided excellent examples of the type of information that is interesting for customers of the Coastal Wiki. Therefore the participants were strongly encouraged to draft their presentations in the form of Coastal Wiki pages.  YPEP impressons of Lecce Conference on Applied Coastal ResearchA few young italian participants wrote their impressions of the third International Short Conference on Applied Coastal Research held from 2 to 4 June 2008 at the University of Salento – Lecce: Giovanni Paratore: “I have improved my general knowledge about the main topics of Coastal Engineering. One of my favourite topics was about harbour circulation and its impact on water pollution. The course also gave to me the opportunity to meet some of the well known Professors in the field of Coastal Engineering. [...] Thanks to the presentation of Professor Kobayashi, I now better understand the important role of dunes to maintain the stability of the beach.” Erminia Capodicasa: "It has been an important opportunity to contact well-experienced researchers coming from all over the world, as well as to share the Course with other PhD Students and young engineer colleagues. In short, I have born in mind several research approaches and topics that I hope will be useful in my research activity as well as I can say that I have added and improved several sides and aspects to my knowledge and my little experience in this field of science." Carlo Lo Re: ” During the short conference I had the opportunity to present my work to the other researchers. I received both suggestions and compliments, which is extremely encouraging for a young like me. All this provided me new ideas to improve the results of my work and I had got a great experience to compare my results with the work of others researchers. From the lectures given by professors I learned new arguments and generally I improved my preparation.” Alberto Marini: “Attending the lectures presented by other young researchers have allowed me to learn more about the activities carried out in other Universities.” YPEP impressions of the BENCORE conference on GISFernando Nardi, a young Italian researcher from GEMINI Department of the University of Tuscia, participated in the second Bencore Conference held the 30th May in Leuven – Belgium. He wrote: "The conference has allowed me to meet researchers, professionals, academics and managers from all over Europe, dealing with the use of geographic information system (GIS) for coastal and maritime areas analysis, management and research. The conference has been an incredible opportunity for a researcher, like myself, to gather information about applied research and professional projects. The conference, organized in two sessions – posters and oral presentation - has been tremendously efficient with perfect timing of presentations and poster sessions during which, even within the limited time, it was possible to have direct discussions with authors about presented works." | | ||||||||||
 Colophon The ENCORA objective is to facilitate and create new opportunities for sharing knowledge and experience on coastal issues in Europe. This electronic newsletter will inform you frequently about the activities and achievements of the network. Every issue will contain a section with news about your national network or ICZM related topics in your country. This electronic newsletter may be forwarded freely to others working in the ICZM fields. If you would like to receive the ENCORA Newsletter directly, please contact your national coordinator or subscribe to www.encora.org. News-items for publication can be send to encore@rikz.rws.minvenw.nl. | |||||||||||
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